Aluminum-Lithium Alloys: Processing, Properties and Applications

Description

Because lithium is the least dense elemental metal, materials scientists and engineers have been working for decades to develop a commercially viable aluminum-lithium (Al-Li) alloy that would be even lighter and stiffer than other aluminum alloys. The first two generations of Al-Li alloys tended to suffer from several problems, including poor ductility and fracture toughness; unreliable properties, fatigue and fracture resistance; and unreliable corrosion resistance. Now, new third generation Al-Li alloys with significantly reduced lithium content and other improvements are promising a revival for Al-Li applications in modern aircraft and aerospace vehicles. Over the last few years, these newer Al-Li alloys have attracted increasing global interest for widespread applications in the aerospace industry largely because of soaring fuel costs and the development of a new generation of civil and military aircraft. This contributed book, featuring many of the top researchers in the field, is the first up-to-date international reference for Al-Li material research, alloy development, structural design and aerospace systems engineering.
It provides a complete treatment of the new generation of low-density AL-Li alloys, including microstructure, mechanical behavoir, processing and applications. It covers the history of earlier generation AL-Li alloys, their basic problems, why they were never widely used, and why the new third generation Al-Li alloys could eventually replace not only traditional aluminum alloys but more expensive composite materials. It contains two full chapters devoted to applications in the aircraft and aerospace fields, where the lighter, stronger Al-Li alloys mean better performing, more fuel-efficient aircraft.

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About Author

Dr. Prasad's work on Al-Li alloys includes alloy development, extensive characterization of mechanical properties and directions for future alloy development. Dr. Prasad has published nearly 120 original and comprehensive research articles in peer-reviewed national and international journals, conference proceedings as well as several comprehensive technical reports. He also has several editorial works to his credit - most of them as the Editor of Transactions of the Indian Institute of Metals. He has recently been elected as the METALLURGIST OF THE YEAR - 2010 by the Indian Institute of Metals for his outstanding contributions to the Development of Non-Ferrous Materials for Indian Defence. Dr. Prasad is a Research Fellow of Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Germany; Visiting Scientist of Max-Planck-Institute for Metalloforschung, Stuttgart, Germany; Visiting Professor, Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Technology, Hyderabad, India; Fellow of Institute of Engineers (India) - FIE; Fellow of Andhra Pradesh Akademy of Sciences - FAPAS and Fellow of Indian Institute of Metals - FIIM. Dr Gokhale has a Ph. D. in Metallurgical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh, where he studied the phenomena of solidification cracking during welding and casting, and related them to the mechanical behaviour of the alloys in the partially solidified state. Since joining the Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory (DMRL) in 1985, Dr Gokhale has been involved with the development of light alloy cast and wrought products. Since 2004 he has been leading research projects on aluminium based foam for shock and sound absorption, and laser additive manufacturing of stainless steels and superalloys. Currently he heads the Solidification Technology Division and the Extractive Technology Division at DMRL. Dr Gokhale is a life member of the Indian Institute of Metals (and vice chairman of the Hyderabad chapter), Materials Research Society of India and the Institute of Indian Foundrymen, and a Light Alloys panel member of the Bureau of Indian Standards, Govt. of India. He was recently elected a Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering. Dr. Wanhill has two Ph.D.s, one in metallurgy from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, and the second Ph.D, from Delft University of Technology. In 1970 he joined the National Aerospace Laboratory NLR in the Netherlands, and since then has investigated fatigue and fracture of all classes of aerospace alloys. He is co-author of the book "Fracture Mechanics." Since 1994 he has also been investigating fracture phenomena in ancient silver and iron, and has published seven peer-reviewed papers on this topic. He also has a lecture course on ancient silver, prepared for the Netherlands Cultural Heritage Agency and the University of Amsterdam. Dr. Wanhill is now a Principal Research Scientist (emeritus) in the Aerospace Vehicles Division of the NLR. He has recently been working on the analysis of fatigue cracking in GLARE panels from the Airbus 380 MegaLiner Barrel test (presented at ICAF* 2009) and, in collaboration with Simon Barter (Defence Science and Technology Organisation, DSTO, Melbourne), on the use of marker loads for fatigue life assessment, fatigue thresholds in 7075-T7351 aluminium, and the fatigue crack growth properties of high strength alloys (titanium, aluminium) to be used in the JSF.